A shaper, as used in the art of woodworking, is a machine whereby a power-driven, rotating cutting device, mounted substantially perpendicular to and projecting above a work surface, engages a wooden workpiece. Operation of a shaper calls for the workpiece to be depressed against the work surface and then moved along a stationary guiding member into contact with the cutting tool. Use of a shaper without a work-feeding device and guard body requires the operator to manually depress and guide the workpiece, bringing the hands in hazardous proximity to the cutting device. Such manual operation of a shaper has long been recognized to be extremely dangerous and therefore, the need for a safe means of engaging the workpiece to the cutting tool has been known for many years.
Various types of work-feeding devices are known in the prior art purporting to fill this need. Problems have arisen, however, in the use of such devices because of their relative complexity. In particular, bulky mechanical devices have been provided in which the work-feeding apparatus is constructed so as to obstruct the operator's view of the workpiece as it engages the cutting head. Furthermore, since many of these devices automatically bring the workpiece into contact with the cutting device, the quality of workmanship is adversely affected because the operator may neither monitor, nor control, the progress of the workpiece. These problems are especially acute in the training of new operators as the experienced operator attempts to demonstrate the workings of a shaper to the novice.
Another problem is the servicing of the cutting tool. The elaborate design of existing prior art devices, power-driven or otherwise, necessitates removing, or at best repositioning, the work feeding device to allow for sharpening, cleaning, replacing or like servicing of the cutting tool. The prior art heretofore lacked a device that provided not only complete protection of the operator, but also provided simple and direct, visual and physical access to the cutting tool.